INFORMATIONAL

TO:

Division Superintendents

FROM:

Richard T. La Pointe
Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:

Changes to Virginia's PEN

The Department of Education is pleased to announce several
major new developments in Virginia's Public Education
Network (PEN). Please know that we sincerely appreciate
your continued support of our efforts, your patience and
understanding during our periods of building a better
network, as well as the many helpful comments and
suggestions we have received.
First, we have now completed installation of over 200 new
local telephone lines in more than 70 localities throughout
Virginia. This provides local access for more than 90% of
Virginia's K-12 schools. Installation of these additional
lines has improved access for all users. Attached please
find a current listing of all local/800 access numbers
available in Virginia. For those subscribers still unable
to access the network via a local phone call, we have also
begun improvements to our "800 service." When this phase of
our improvement plan is complete, 800 service will be
available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. We will keep
you informed of our progress in this effort.
Next, the Department of Education has formally adopted new
consolidated policies for Virginia's PEN. The document,
"Virginia's Public Education Network Consolidated Policies"
may be found on our home page (www.pen.k12.va.us/go/VDOE).
This document delineates the network's purpose, its
acceptable use and policies governing its operation. Please
pay special attention to the new acceptable use policies.
In particular, personal "home pages," which are no longer
permitted, must be removed by July 1, 1997. Also,
subscribers are no longer limited to one hour of access time
per day. Individual "sessions" are still limited to one
hour, but subscribers may log in for as many one hour
sessions as necessary.
SUPTS. MEMO. NO. 84
May 16, 1997
Page 2
Finally, we are pleased to announce the appointment of
Mr. Jerry Mathews as our new executive administrator of
Virginia's PEN. Jerry has served as a local teacher and
principal, and has filled many different roles since joining
the Department of Education in 1980. His instructional and
technological experience make him well suited to lead our
future efforts to deliver a quality product to Virginia
school divisions. Jerry's first responsibilities will
include implementing PEN's new consolidated policies.
Please do not hesitate to contact Jerry should you have any
questions or concerns (jmathews@pen.k12.va.us, or 804/225-2950).
Management of this network is an evolving process. Again,
please know that we welcome your suggestions for future
refinement and improvement of Virginia's Public Education
Network.
RTL/jt
Attachment: A hard copy of this memo and its attachment
will be sent to the superintendent's office.
Note: The attachment to this memo is the current list of PEN
phone numbers which is located on PEN from the main
menu,under Archives of Documents, Virginia's PEN Guidelines
and Phone Numbers, VA.PEN Access Phone Numbers.